Saudi Royal Orders: MBS is crown prince
A series of Royal Orders issued on the morning of June 21 appointed King Salman’s influential son Prince Muhammad Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (MBS) Crown Prince. He hitherto held the position of Deputy Crown Prince – a recent innovation which is now likely to fall into abeyance.
The details of the royal orders are as follows:
* Mohamed bin Nayef (MBN), former crown prince, is relieved of all his posts, including interior minister.
* MBS is appointed crown prince and deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers, in addition to all his current posts. these include, notably, Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Economic and Development Affairs.
* Even though the text of the orders does not say that MBN was relieved of his posts “at his request” (suggesting that he was not), the Saudi press agency released a photo of MBN swearing allegiance to his young cousin, a way of showing he is on board with the decision. The Saudi public is invited to swear allegiance to the new crown prince tonight at Safa Palace in Mecca.
* Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz is appointed interior minister. So the Interior Ministry remains in the hands of the Nayef clan. Abdulaziz bin Saud was a longstanding adviser to his uncle, MBN, as interior minister.
* Ahmad bin Mohamed bin Abdullah al-Salem, an Interior Ministry veteran and another former adviser to the interior minister, is appointed deputy interior minister, replacing Abdulrahman bin Ali al-Rubayaan.
* Prince Bandar Bin Faysal Bin Bandar Bin Abdulaziz is appointed vice-president of General Intelligence. Prince Bandar is the son of the governor of Riyadh Province, Prince Faysal Bin Bandar, who is believed to be close to MBS. Prince Bandar Bin Faysal is understood to have worked at General Intelligence for some time.
* Paragraph B of Art. V of the Fundamental Law of Saudi Arabia, which states that succession to the throne is reserved to “the descendants of the Founder King Abdulaziz,” was updated to state that, following this succession, king and crown prince may not be of the same branch of the House of Abdulaziz. In other words, when he is king, MBS may not name a crown prince from the Salman clan – and notably not one of his own sons. This formalisation of a hitherto tacit rule seems to be designed to reassure other branches of the royal family that MBS’ appointment does not mark the beginning of a transition to a father-to-son succession model from which they would be excluded.
To sweeten the deal for the general public, another Royal Order made the restoration of civil servants’ bonuses retroactive. Civil servants’ perks and bonuses were “suspended” in September 2016 — in effect a pay cut for civil servants — as part of an austerity package, only to be restored in April after manifestations of discontent, in particular via social media, became too loud to ignore. Now the restoration is made retroactive, so civil servants will be paid all the bonuses they did not get from Sep. 2016 to April 2017.
It should be noted that the appointment of Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef as interior minister puts his father in an awkward position. Prince Saud bin Nayef is governor of the Eastern Province and as such he answers to the interior minister, who is now his son. This puts a question mark on the future of Saud bin Nayef as governor of the Eastern Province